A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin.

Background

In response to mounting national concern over crimes motivated by bias, Congress enacted the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990. The law directed the Attorney General to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” The Attorney General delegated the responsibility for developing and implementing a hate crime data collection program to the Director of the FBI, who assigned the task to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. In September 1994, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which amended the Hate Crime Statistics Act to include both physical and mental disabilities. The UCR Program began collecting statistics on offenses motivated by bias against physical and mental disabilities in January 1997. The Church Arson Act of 1996 mandated that hate crime data collection become a permanent part of the UCR Program.

Bias-motivated Offenses

Those who developed the guidelines for hate crime data collection recognized that hate crimes are not separate, distinct crimes; instead, they are traditional offenses motivated by the offender’s bias. After much consideration, the developers decided that hate crime data could be derived by capturing the additional element of bias in those offenses already being reported to the UCR Program. Attaching the collection of hate crime statistics to the established UCR data collection procedures, they concluded, would fulfill the directives of the Hate Crime Statistics Act without placing an undue additional reporting burden on law enforcement and, in time, would develop a substantial body of data about the nature and frequency of bias crimes occurring throughout the Nation. As a result, the law enforcement agencies that participate in the national hate crime program collect details about an offender’s bias motivation associated with the following offense types: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and destruction/damage/vandalism of property. The law enforcement agencies participating in the National Incident-Based Reporting System also collect data on additional bias-motivated crimes against persons or crimes against property (e.g., fraud) and publishes these crimes as Other.

Participation

Law enforcement’s support

Law enforcement’s support and participation have been the most vital factors in moving the hate crime data collection effort from concept to reality. The International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the former UCR Data Providers Advisory Policy Board (which is now part of the Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board), the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, and the Association of State UCR Programs all have endorsed the UCR Program’s hate crime program. In addition to this support, thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide make crucial contributions to the Program’s success as the officers within these agencies investigate offenses and report as known hate crimes those they determine were motivated by biases.

Agencies contributing data

Agencies that participated in the hate crime program in 2006 represented over 255 million inhabitants, or 85.2 percent of the Nation’s population, and their jurisdictions covered 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Outlying Areas (Guam).

Law Enforcement Reports

The national UCR Program views each hate crime as an incident, which may have multiple offenses, victims, and offenders. When aggregating the number of hate crime offenses committed against individuals, the UCR Program counts one offense for each victim. The offense types of murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, and intimidation are crimes against persons. When counting crimes against property, the UCR Program allots one offense for each distinct incident regardless of the number of victims. Robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and destruction/damage/vandalism comprise the offense types that the Program considers crimes against property .

Reporting agencies identified 7,330 known offenders in 7,722 bias-motivated incidents in 2006. In the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the term known offender does not imply that the suspect’s identity is known. The term indicates that some aspect of the suspect was identified, thus distinguishing the suspect from an unknown offender. Law enforcement agencies specify the number of offenders and, when possible, the race of the offender or offenders as a group.

Known Offender's Race, 2006

Total

7,330

White

4,293

Black

1,513

American Indian/Alaskan Native

75

Asian/Pacific Islander

84

Multiple Races, Group1

421

Unknown Race

944

1 The term multiple races, group is used to describe a group of offenders comprised of individuals of varying races.

Incidents

The great majority of hate crime incidents involve a single bias, although the hate crime program accepts reports of multiple-bias incidents. By definition, a multiple-bias incident is one in which two or more offense types were motivated by two or more bias types. Of the 7,649 incidents reported by law enforcement agencies in 2004, 7 were multiple-bias incidents.

Law enforcement investigators found that racial prejudice motivated more than half of all the reported single-bias incidents (52.9 percent). They attributed 18.0 percent of the incidents to a religious bias, 15.7 percent to a sexual-orientation bias, and 12.7 percent to an ethnicity/national origin bias. The remaining incidents were ascribed to a disability bias.

Single-Bias Incidents

An analysis of the 7,720 single-bias incidents reported in 2006 reveals the following:

51.8 percent were racially motivated.

18.9 percent were motivated by religious bias.

15.5 percent resulted from sexual-orientation bias.

12.7 percent stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias.

1.0 percent were prompted by disability bias.

Offenses by Bias Motivation within Incidents

Of the 9,076 single-bias hate crime offenses reported in the above incidents:

52.2 percent were motivated by racial bias.

17.6 percent resulted from religious bias.

15.6 percent were motivated by sexual-orientation bias.

13.6 percent were motivated by ethnicity or national origin bias.

1.0 percent were the consequences of biases against disability.

Racial bias

In 2006, law enforcement agencies reported that 4,737 single-bias hate crime offenses were racially motivated. Of these offenses:

66.2 percent were motivated by anti-black bias.

21.3 percent were motivated by anti-white bias.

6.1 percent were driven by bias against groups of individuals consisting of more than one race (anti-multiple races, group).

0.3 percent involved the offense category other, which is collected only in the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Crimes against property

The majority of the 3,593 crimes against property (81.0 percent) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism.

The remaining 19.0 percent of crimes against property consisted of robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other crimes.

Crimes against society

Thirty-eight offenses were crimes against society (e.g., drug or narcotic offenses or prostitution).

Victims

In the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the victim of a hate crime may be an individual, a business, an institution, or society as a whole. Nationwide in 2006, law enforcement agencies reported that there were 9,652 victims of hate crimes. Of these victims, ten were victimized in two separate multiple-bias incidents.

By Bias Motivation

An analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:

52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.

18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.

15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.

13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.

1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.

Racial bias

Among the single-bias hate crime incidents in 2006, there were 5,020 victims of racially motivated hate crime.

66.4 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-black bias.

21.0 percent were victims of an anti-white bias.

4.8 percent were victims of an anti-Asian/Pacific Islander bias.

1.5 percent were victims of an anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native bias.

6.4 percent were victims of a bias against a group of individuals in which more than one race was represented (anti-multiple races, group).

Religious bias

Of the 1,750 victims of an anti-religion hate crime:

65.4 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-Jewish bias.

11.9 percent were victims of an anti-Islamic bias.

4.9 percent were victims of an anti-Catholic bias.

3.7 percent were victims of an anti-Protestant bias.

0.5 percent were victims of an anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.

8.4 percent were victims of a bias against other religions (anti-other religion).

5.3 percent were victims of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).

Sexual-orientation bias

In 2006, of the 1,472 victims targeted due to a sexual-orientation bias:

62.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias.

20.9 percent were victims of an anti-homosexual bias.

13.7 percent were victims of an anti-female homosexual bias.

2.0 percent were victims of an anti-heterosexual bias.

1.4 percent were victims of an anti-bisexual bias.

Ethnicity/national origin bias

Hate crimes motivated by the offender’s bias toward a particular ethnicity/national origin were directed at 1,305 victims. Of these victims:

62.8 percent were targeted because of an anti-Hispanic bias.

37.2 percent were victimized because of a bias against other ethnicities/national origins.

Disability bias

Of the 95 victims of a hate crime due to the offender’s bias against a disability:

74 were targets of an anti-mental disability bias.

21 were victims of an anti-physical disability bias.

By Crime Category

Of the 9,652 victims of a hate crime in 2006, 56.5 percent were victims of crimes against persons and 43.2 percent were victims of crimes against property. Less than one percent were victims of crimes against society.

By Offense Type

Crimes against persons

There were 5,449 victims of hate crimes against persons in 2006. Regarding these victims and offenses:

Three persons were murdered and six were forcibly raped.

46.0 percent experienced intimidation.

31.9 percent were victims of simple assault.

21.6 percent were victims of aggravated assault.

Less than one percent (0.3) were victims of other types of offenses, which are collected only in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

Crimes against property

In 2006, there were 4,165 hate crime victims of crimes against property. Of these:

80.4 percent were victims of destruction/damage or vandalism.

6.8 percent were victims of larceny-theft.

4.8 percent were victims of robbery.

4.2 percent were victims of burglary.

1.2 percent were victims of arson.

1.1 percent were victims of motor vehicle theft.

1.5 percent were victims of other hate crime offenses, which are collected only in the NIBRS.

Crimes against society

Thirty-eight victims of hate crimes were victims of crimes against society.

Offenders

Reporting agencies identified 7,330 known offenders in 7,722 bias-motivated incidents in 2006. In the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the term known offender does not imply that the suspect’s identity is known. The term indicates that some aspect of the suspect was identified, thus distinguishing the suspect from an unknown offender. Law enforcement agencies specify the number of offenders and, when possible, the race of the offender or offenders as a group.

By Race

An analysis of available race data for the 7,330 known hate crime offenders revealed that:

58.6 percent were white.

20.6 percent were black.

5.7 percent were groups made up of individuals of various races (multiple races, group).

1.1 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander.

1.0 percent of known offenders were American Indian/Alaskan Native.

12.9 percent were unknown.

By Crime Category

Crimes against persons

Of the 5,770 known hate crime offenders who committed crimes against persons in 2006:

36.7 percent committed simple assault.

35.0 percent intimidated their victims

27.8 percent committed aggravated assault.

0.2 percent murdered or raped their victims.

0.3 percent committed other types of offenses, which are collected only in the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Crimes against property

A total of 1,912 known hate crime offenders committed crimes against property in 2006. Of these offenders:

63.4 percent committed destruction/damage/vandalism.

16.3 percent committed robbery.

9.5 percent committed larceny-theft.

5.9 percent committed burglary.

1.6 percent committed arson.

0.9 percent committed motor vehicle theft.

2.5 percent committed other types of bias-motivated offenses.

Crimes against society

In 2006, 58 known offenders committed 38 crimes against society involving 38 victims. Crimes against society are collected only in the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Tables

Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders by Bias Motivation, 2006

Bias motivation

Incidents

Offenses

Victims1

Known offenders2

Total

7,722

9,080

9,652

7,330

Single-Bias Incidents

7,720

9,076

9,642

7,324

Race:

4,000

4,737

5,020

3,957

Anti-White

890

1,008

1,054

1,074

Anti-Black

2,640

3,136

3,332

2,437

Anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native

60

72

75

72

Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander

181

230

239

181

Anti-Multiple Races, Group

229

291

320

193

Religion:

1,462

1,597

1,750

705

Anti-Jewish

967

1,027

1,144

362

Anti-Catholic

76

81

86

44

Anti-Protestant

59

62

65

35

Anti-Islamic

156

191

208

147

Anti-Other Religion

124

140

147

63

Anti-Multiple Religions, Group

73

88

92

49

Anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

7

8

8

5

Sexual Orientation:

1,195

1,415

1,472

1,380

Anti-Male Homosexual

747

881

913

914

Anti-Female Homosexual

163

192

202

154

Anti-Homosexual

238

293

307

268

Anti-Heterosexual

26

28

29

26

Anti-Bisexual

21

21

21

18

Ethnicity/National Origin:

984

1,233

1,305

1,209

Anti-Hispanic

576

770

819

802

Anti-Other Ethnicity/National Origin

408

463

486

407

Disability:

79

94

95

73

Anti-Physical

17

20

21

17

Anti-Mental

62

74

74

56

Multiple-Bias Incidents3

2

4

10

6

1 The term victim may refer to a person, business, institution, or society as a whole.

2 The term known offender does not imply that the identity of the suspect is known, but only that an attribute of the suspect has been identified, which distinguishes him/her from an unknown offender.

3 In a multiple-bias incident, two conditions must be met: (a) more than one offense type must occur in the incident and (b) at least two offense types must be motivated by different biases.

Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders by Offense Type, 2006

Offense type

Incidents1

Offenses

Victims2

Known offenders3

Total

7,722

9,080

9,652

7,330

Crimes against persons:

4,378

5,449

5,449

5,770

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter

3

3

3

3

Forcible rape

6

6

6

8

Aggravated assault

860

1,178

1,178

1,606

Simple assault

1,447

1,737

1,737

2,116

Intimidation

2,046

2,508

2,508

2,018

Other4

16

17

17

18

Crimes against property:

3,593

3,593

4,165

1,912

Robbery

142

142

200

311

Burglary

155

155

177

112

Larceny-theft

261

261

283

182

Motor vehicle theft

25

25

44

17

Arson

41

41

51

30

Destruction/damage/vandalism

2,911

2,911

3,348

1,212

Other4

58

58

62

48

Crimes against society4

38

38

38

58

1 The actual number of incidents is 7,722. However, the column figures will not add to the total because incidents may include more than one offense type, and these are counted in each appropriate offense type category.

2 The term victim may refer to a person, business, institution, or society as a whole.

3 The term known offender does not imply that the identity of the suspect is known, but only that an attribute of the suspect has been identified, which distinguishes him/her from an unknown offender. The actual number of known offenders is 7,330. However, the column figures will not add to the total because some offenders are responsible for more than one offense type, and they are, therefore, counted more than once in this table.